Chandler Parsons wearing Jordan Brand while Anta remodels his shoe

Those who play incredibly close attention to the footwear of basketball players may have been caught something surprising on Sunday.

Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons made his return from a seven-game absence as the team took on the Los Angeles Lakers. Not making a return with him were his signature shoe, the ANTA CP1.

Instead of his usual signature ...

... Or even the next-gen Chandler Parsons 2 ...

... Parsons played in an Air Jordan 10 from Jordan Brand on Sunday:

Considering Parsons has a $1-million annual endorsement with the Chinese shoe company, this is quite surprising. But Parsons missed time due to a left ankle sprain and bone bruise, and there's concern that his shoe contributed to the injury due to too much flexibility in the ankle.

"I just am trying to figure out if it was one of the shoes that I was wearing that bothered me," Parsons said Sunday. "I just wanted to fix them and make them stiffer."

The logos on the Jordan Brand shoe were covered out of respect for his deal, but the Jumpman logo was visible on the sole of the shoe. Anta was aware that Parsons would temporarily make the switch, with the company's marketing manager issuing the following statement to ESPN:

For the past over one year's cooperation between Anta and Chandler, both parties have been working together closely to make products satisfied by Chandler. According to Chandler's new situation, we already started making adjustment to the CP1 shoes, to make sure the products are exactly according to (the) player's need and request. We believe Chandler will be back in CP1 shoes very soon. Under all circumstances, Anta's No.1 priority is to satisfy players' needs, this is what keeps motivating Anta to grow and improve.

Parsons can reportedly opt out of his shoe deal after next season, but it's unclear if it would make more sense for him to remain a big fish on a smaller Anta brand or make the leap to a larger, stateside company.